Refinery tragedy in Iran heightens tensions with Israel

At least one person was killed in a refinery fire in Iran's Khuzestan province. Local media claim that an accident occurred.

State media reported on 15 October that the fire took place at the Pars Petro refinery in Shushtar, a city in Khuzestan province near the Iraqi border, approximately 800 kilometres southwest of Tehran. According to the AFP agency, citing local authorities, four other people were injured.

Authorities attributed the cause of the incident to a "collision of a tanker with petrol tanks" and declared that the incident is under investigation. "As a result of this incident, one person died, and four were injured," reported the official IRNA news agency, quoting the city governor, Mohsen Mousavi.

IRNA also quoted the head of crisis management in Khuzestan, Ali Abdullahi, who cited "failure to observe safety precautions during refuelling" as the cause.

Photos from the scene immediately appeared online. They show a column of fire that likely engulfed one of the tanks at the refinery.

There is a constant real threat of further escalation of the conflict between Iran and Israel, which is why any incidents related to petrochemical infrastructure raise suspicions of potential sabotage actions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated overnight from Monday to Tuesday that a decision on the form of retaliation for the Iranian missile attack on 1 October will be made "based on Israel's interests," according to Reuters.

"We listen to the positions of the US government, but the final decision will be made based on analysis of Israel's national security needs," emphasised the Prime Minister's office.